How to Have Greener Grass NOW - Part A

When you make meaningful connections with God's people, two things will happen. It will produce joy and it will produce encouragement.

First of all, it'll produce joy. Notice that Paul says, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again. So part of the joy that Paul is getting is in this reconnection made with the fellowship of this church at Philippi.

Many people experience the most contentment through their family and friends and the least contentment when it comes to money. It shows just how important our relationships really are. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzing, Skip explains how vital it is for you to meet with other believers regularly. But before we begin, we want to tell you about an opportunity you have to see the Bible come alive before your eyes. You're invited to join Skip on a tour of Israel in 2022. Visiting the places where the events of the Bible unfolded is a unique and significant experience. You'll be encouraged in your faith as God's word comes to life for you in a way it never has before.

Get all the info at inspirationcruises.com slash C-A-B-Q. Now, speaking of Israel and the Middle East, here's a resource that introduces you to the key players in that region and shares why their decisions are significant for you. New York Times bestselling author Joel Rosenberg is now based in Jerusalem, and he's releasing the new nonfiction book Enemies and Allies.

I've traveled with Joel to Middle East cities to meet with kings and crown princes. We sat together on the east lawn of the White House for the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, and I previewed his new book Enemies and Allies. I can tell you it contains never before published quotes from behind closed door meetings with some of the most powerful and mysterious leaders in the Middle East. You will want to read this book. Enemies and Allies by Joel Rosenberg includes insights and analysis from the author's conversations with some of the most controversial leaders in the world.

This is the first book of its kind. Almost nobody's ever had that chance to not just meet one of these major leaders, but to meet almost all of them, and then they get to tell the story in first person language. Come with me into the palace, into the motorcade, and come meet the most interesting, consequential, and controversial leaders in the entire Middle East. Enemies and Allies by Joel Rosenberg includes insights and analysis from the author's conversations with some of the most controversial leaders in the world. We'll send you a hardcover copy of Enemies and Allies as thanks for your gift of $35 or more.

To give, visit connectwithskipp.com or call 800-922-1888. Okay, we're in Philippians chapter 4 today as we get into the teaching with Skip Heitzig. Most of you have heard or have seen the story of Oliver Twist. No doubt you've seen the movie. Maybe you've even read Charles Dickens' book by that name. And when Charles Dickens wrote the book Oliver Twist, he was writing against social injustice of child labor in 1830s England. But the story is about a little boy with no name. Somebody names him Oliver Twist in the orphanage. They didn't know his mother's name. They didn't know his name.

Somebody comes up with the name. For the first nine years of his life, this young boy spends time in this orphanage before he is put into an adult workhouse. Desperate conditions. He's always lonely and tired and cold and hungry. And on one particular meal where all the kids are at the tables eating this glop that's in their bowl, barely enough to subsist on, that young boy makes the major gaffe. He grabs the bowl, gets out of his seat, walks up to the overfed overseer and says, please, sir, I want Samoa. Remember that scene? So it was as if he had committed a capital crime because he asked for more.

Now, what he did out of poverty and legitimately has sort of become the American anthem. Please, sir, we want Samoa. Now, it does not take long in this life before people, even as children, learn the fine art of being discontent. They want more. They want more than what they have. I mean, there's got to be more. I need to have more. I need to have more. And other people have more.

Why can't I have more? So the grass is always greener in the next lawn. The traffic is always faster in the next lane.

People are always happier in the next state. And life is always better with the next person. You may have heard about the two teardrops that were floating down the river of life. And they had a conversation. One teardrop said to the other, she said, I am a tear of a woman who loved a man and lost him.

And the second teardrop said, Well, I'm a tear of the woman that got him. So either way, bad news. I found an article this week. It was called Discontent in Prosperous America. It was all about how Americans have more than ever before, but are more discontented than ever before.

That we live at the best time in history, but we have the worst attitude in history. So in this article, the author said the income of the average American has risen drastically in real terms in the last 40 years. The average American home is 1000 square feet bigger than it used to be 40 years ago, despite the fact that our families are smaller. The average American diet is 500 more calories per person than it was 40 years ago.

I think that shows. The average American turned a wheel multiple times to call someone 40 years ago. Now we have smartphones that give us access to virtually any medical information or person in the world, and it fits into the palm of our hand. Life expectancy has gone up over a decade in the last 40 years. Emissions have plummeted in the last 40 years. He went on and on and on to describe how good we now have it, but how poorly we respond to it.

Then he asked this question. Does the average American realize that they live more materially comfortable than the czars of Russia did 100 years ago? So as we stand at the end of one year on the verge of another year, what is our attitude?

Is our attitude like, please God, I want Samoa. What is it that we feel we need more of? Some would say I need a better car. Others would say I need a bigger home. Others might say I want a better husband.

Others might say a couple zeros at the end of my paycheck would help. With that as sort of a background, we go now to our text in Philippians Chapter 4, beginning in verse 10. I want to set the stage a little bit just for the understanding of the text. What we discover as we look at the life of Paul is that he is planted a church in Philippi of Macedonia because he had received a vision from a man of Macedonia saying come over to Macedonia and help us. He was in Troas on the coast, the Mediterranean, Aegean coast. He went from there, went to Philippi, planted a church. It was difficult.

It was difficult. Eventually it was prosperous. It grew.

It was vibrant. He had a beautiful relationship with this group of people. And in fact, they at one time supported Paul in his ministry.

They financially supported him. They gave him things that he needed while he was in Macedonia and after that. But several years passed since that time until this time that he writes the letter. But now something happened and Paul addresses what has happened.

A guy from Philippi named Epaphroditus traveled about 800 miles from Philippi to where Paul was in prison in Rome and gave him a financial gift, probably a care package of some sort that would help him, maybe clothes, etc. And he is thanking them for that and mentioning that. So with that as a background, look at verse 10, Philippians chapter 4 verse 10. I'm going to read all the way down to verse 18 for the sake of context. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again, though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well that you have shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.

We're going to look at just verse 10 through 13 this morning. And I'd like to point out three principles that are going to help your satisfaction level rise. If you could, if we could get these principles into our new year, we will have more joy in the next 12 months than we have had in the past 12 months. Three easy principles. Be contented or be connected. Be content and be confident. Be connected to God's people. Be content with God's provision.

Be confident in God's power. Those are the three principles that emerge from these verses that we look at. Let's begin with the first in verse 10.

Be connected to God's people. Verse 10, be connected to God's people. Paul writes, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last, your care for me has flourished again, though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Okay, so a decade has passed. 10 years have passed from the time Paul went to Philippi to plant the church and got thrown in the Philippian jail and got beat up.

You know the story. You remember that from the book of Acts. 10 years have passed. At first, they were able to support Paul. Even when he left, Philippi went over to the Thessalonica. They sent aid, as he said, a couple of different times, supported him through that, but something happened and we don't even know what it was that happened. They lost touch somehow.

So they lacked the opportunity to continue that support. But now, and this is what Paul is addressing, now they have reconnected and they were reconnected because a guy from Philippi named Epaphroditus, an ambassador of that church, finds Paul in jail and says, Paul, here's something from the church at Philippi to tide you over. We want to support you again. We want to help you out. Here's a care package. Here's some financial help for you.

And they do it to help him. There's an old Chinese proverb that says, if you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, go inherit a fortune.

But if you want happiness for a lifetime, go help someone. So their joy and Paul's joy rises as he gets help from them. When you connect with God's people, two things will happen. When you make meaningful connections with God's people, two things will happen. It will produce joy and it will produce encouragement.

First of all, it'll produce joy. Notice that Paul says, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now, at last, your care for me has flourished again. So part of the joy that Paul is getting is in this reconnection made with the fellowship of this church at Philippi.

I have a question. What group are you connected to consistently? Not what group do you come sporadically to observe and loosely be a part of, but what group do you consistently attach yourself to? Who brings you joy by caring for you? So it's two in the morning, something has happened, your life comes crashing down. Who do you call?

Is there some small group leader you could call? Some group of people that could be easily connected to be around you, pretty much all of them. Around you, praying you through this time. And I bring this up because the Bible frequently brings this up. It seems that in the modern church, there are many believers who are not belongers. Oh, they believe all the right things and they, there is a relationship with God and it's true, it's authentic. They're believers, but not belongers. They miss the joy of consistent fellowship.

And it's not entirely the fault of individuals. Sometimes it is helped to be produced by the institution of the church itself. Because I've noticed over the years that many churches love to boast about their membership role that doesn't really reflect who attends the church.

So they love to boast. We have 400 members in our roster, but 40 actually go. There's even an old joke about three pastors who got together. All of them had the same problem. There were bats living in the church building in the attic of all three churches. So one pastor said, you know, I have bats. I've tried to get rid of them all year long.

I can't do it. I made, I put noise makers up there. I sent cats up there, but the bats still live in the attic of the church that I pastor. And the second pastor said, you know, we have the same problem and I've tried to fumigate. I've tried everything we can, but those bats still live there. The third pastor said, well, gentlemen, we used to have bats in our church attic. I fixed the problem. They said, well, please pray.

Tell you what's the answer. He said, well, I baptized them all, made them church members, and they haven't been back since. And unfortunately we sort of create this spiritual drifter mentality by just saying, just put your name on the roster.

And that's all that is required. But when you connect with God's people, it produces joy. The second thing it will do when you connect with God's people, it produces encouragement to go on. I think that really is the thought of this whole section for Paul. He needed encouragement. He saw this as an encouragement of validation, so to speak of his ministry. I think that's behind the words when he says that last, your care is flourished for me again, though you surely did care, but you lack the opportunity. Those words lacked opportunities literally means a good season or a good time for whatever reason. And we don't know the reason, but for whatever reason, they supported him at first, and then it wasn't the right time. It wasn't the right season.

And now it is. And one of the things that I love about Paul is that he never tried to guilt people into giving. He never tried to use high pressure techniques saying, if you don't give to my ministry, you know, God's going to turn around and leave town. And he never usually never cajoled people. And over the years I've watched, I've read letters from ministers who pour on all sorts of tactics to get people to feel guilty.

I even saw one guy in television. This is years ago in Los Angeles. And probably half of his broadcast, he was talking about, we need to up the budget. We need your help. You got to give today or we're going to go broke. So one broadcast, he actually turned around, said, I'm going to preach the rest of my message this way, because the finances I said we needed have not come in. By the way, that's just a cool logo right there, Joy.

I'm looking at it for the first time. Anyway, he preached this way, the whole message, because the money didn't come in. I actually thought that was his best side, but no, no. What did Paul says? He goes, your care has flourished for me again. Now that word flourish means revived or blossomed or to sprout. It was a word used of a barren tree changing from wintertime to springtime. The air is warmer. The sunshine is more copious.

There's more moisture. And that tree begins to change and revive, flourish, blossom, sprout. So Paul is encouraged by their recent giving to him. And he sees this as fruit validating his ministry. I am called to this.

This is in the will of God for me. I'll never forget when I first moved from California to New Mexico. And it was a scary time because I didn't know what to expect. I just announced I'm moving east to plant a church. So as I moved, there was a church in Cypress, California that gave us a check for $1,000 saying, we just want you to know we believe God is calling you to be a church planter.

I can't describe. I mean, I almost shook when I held that $1,000 check. But man, I'm responsible before God. And it was such a confirmation that we're making the right move.

Let's go for it. So be connected to God's people. Second, be content with God's provision.

Verse 11 and 12. He continues, not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, even the state of New Mexico, to be content. I know how to be abased. I know how to abound everywhere. And in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. And there's a lot in these two verses. And this is a very famous section.

I had a man come to me last night saying, oh, this is my favorite text in the Bible. But I want you to sort of drill down with me. Notice a couple of things. Notice that contentment, that's really the subject of these two verses, that contentment isn't related to necessity. Because Paul says, not that I speak in regard to need or necessity. In other words, my needs may be met, but my needs may not be met. And if my needs are not met, I just want you to know I'm still going to be content.

That it's irrespective of having my needs met. It's a funny thing when we talk about our needs. It's funny what things we regard as being needful.

Have you discovered that? I really need that TV. It's a need.

I couldn't survive without it. A hundred years ago, the average American could produce a list of 70 things that he or she needed. Today, that number is well over 500 needs the average person has. I wonder if we don't know how to tell the difference between what's a need and what's a greed.

And the greed has now become a need. It happens everywhere. I've been to Israel now many times. And the first time I went to Israel, I noticed these people that live in tents are called Bedouins.

They're all throughout the southern part of the land in Judea. And Bedouins live in tents, animal hair tents, black tents. And they travel as a community of tent dwellers together. Still to this day, in modern day, they have flocks like goats and sheep. And they'll move around depending on where they can find pasture land for their animals. So I always love to point the Bedouins out to people that go to Israel.

You're going to look now to the side of the road, and you're going to see people that live like Abraham did. So they kind of see the tents in the distance. Well, one time we're traveling around, and we go around a corner, and we see this tent community. And out of a couple of tents, we notice a television aerial, antenna going up. I thought, interesting.

This has now become a need for the Bedouin people, a television set. Look at the word content in these verses. I've learned in whatever state I am to be content. Autarkes is the word. Autarkes means contained.

I've learned to be contained. Self-sufficient, it could be translated. Satisfied would be another translation. Or, enough. A person could say, I have enough.

That's Skip Heitzing with a message from the series Technicolor Joy. Right now, here's Skip to tell you about how you can keep encouraging messages like this coming your way as you help connect others to God's truths. God's Holy Spirit lives inside of us.

Why? To help us live out our faith in this world. And our heart is to come alongside of you to do the same. That's why we work to make these Bible teachings available to friends like you. Friends like you. And you can help connect even more people to God's Word today through a generous gift.

Here's how you can give now to impact others' lives with God's truth. Contentment is a learned ability. It's a learned ability. So before you go, man, I wish I was blessed with the gift of contentment. It's not a gift. It's a learned skill.

Because look what he says. For I have learned, verse 11, in whatever state I am to be content. Verse 12, I know how to be abased, know how to abound everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry. That is so encouraging to me because I'm still learning. Connect with Skip Hyten is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.